Electronic

Electronic roll crashing on Election Day could have been avoided

12/11/2025Diah Kusuma

A sign points the way to a voting booth during the Hamilton West by-election. (November 2022)

Photo: RNZ / Anneke Smith

The Electoral Commission has found a crash of its eRoll on Election Day was “ultimately avoidable”.

The electronic version of the electoral roll went down shortly after 10am on election day 14 October, and was not fixed until just before 2pm.

While it only affected those casting special voters, many voting centers were already under strain with massive queues, and this caused further delays and confusion.

How the eRoll works

The eRoll is a mobile app developed exclusively for the Electoral Commission and was developed and maintained by IT company Catalyst.

On election day staff primarily used it to search the live electoral rolls for voters who did not have their EasyVote card with them.

“It is an electronic option to do what can also be done by looking up the hard copy rolls in the voting place for electors enrolled by writ day and looking up the index to places and streets to work out which electorate a person lives in.”

What happened on Election Day

Documents released in an OIA to RNZ showed at 9:59am on election day four connections failed – although it was later suggested these were not related to the

FUJIFILM Electronic Materials Shizuoka Site achieved Platinum Status in RBA assessment

11/11/2025Diah Kusuma

FUJIFILM Electronic Materials Co., Ltd. (Yokohama, Kanagawa; President Shigeki Kobayashi) is pleased to announce that its Shizuoka Site has scored 200 points (full marks) and achieved the highest Platinum status after receiving assessment under the Validated Assessment Program (VAP), which examines factories for their compliance with RBA’s (Responsible Business Alliance) ^*1 Code of conduct.

In its CSR program “Sustainable Value Plan 2030” with the target year of 2030, the Fujifilm Group expresses its resolve to enhance its management of the entire supply chain, which is the foundation of business activities, from the viewpoint of CSR (environment, ethics , human rights, etc.). As a member of the Fujifilm Group, FUJIFILM Electronic Materials will apply experiences gained from the latest Platinum recognition for the Shizuoka Site to other manufacturing sites to contribute to reinforcing the CSR foundation of the Group-wide supply chain. Furthermore, as a leading company in electronic materials products making on-going contributions to the technological innovation of the semiconductor industry, we will continue to work with stakeholders to strive to solve social issues.

Could the Next Generation of Microelectronics Be Made From Coal?

08/11/2025Diah Kusuma

Thank you. Listen to this article using the player above.

Despite supplying just over a third of global electricity generation, coal’s status as the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel is driving many countries to reevaluate the role that it plays in energy production and national economies.

In a new paper, published in Communications Engineering, researchers suggest that coal could continue to be used to power our modern devices – just in a more creative way. Rather than being used as a fossil fuel to produce electricity, coal can be transformed via a new processing technique into extremely high-purity materials that can be used to build electronic components.

The researchers say that their new research is an effective proof-of-principle and could have significant implications for the semiconductor industry.

The next frontier: 2D electronics

Against a backdrop of demand for increasingly faster, smaller, more powerful electronics, the natural conclusion of such a push is the development of electronic parts from ultra-small materials – possibly just one or two atoms thick. This concept of “two-dimensional electronics” is the limit for electronics miniaturization and promises incredibly small devices that consume tiny amounts of energy but

Vietnam Amends Law on Electronic Transactions

03/11/2025Diah Kusuma

The law in Vietnam on e-transactions, issued in March 2006, exhibits some deficiencies concerning modern electronic transactions. Therefore, to promote electronic trade, the National Assembly of Vietnam in June 2023 approved the revised Law on Electronic Transactions. Here’s what this might mean for foreign firms.

In June 2023, the Vietnamese government approved the amended Law on Electronic Transactions (LoET) No. 20/2023/QH15. This was to ensure that Vietnam’s economy would keep pace with global technological advances and accurately conduct real-time transactions online.

The new law lays the groundwork for electronic transactions and adds new features to the original scope of application, definitions of e-transactions, e-contract performance, data sharing, and regulations on databases.

These efforts were made to reduce cross-border transaction fees for foreign firms and facilitate business transactions in the electronic environment. The amendments to the new law have also abolished unnecessary administrative procedures in the implementation of certain e-transactions, helping foreign firms to quickly adapt to the ever-evolving global digital payments landscape.

What’s an e-transaction?

FIND BUSINESS SUPPORT

As per the LoET 2005, an e-transaction is defined as a transaction that is carried out by electronic means, which are unrestricted by geographical boundaries and are devoid of direct face-to-face interactions.

Electronic filing program in development for New Brunswick’s court system

27/10/2025Diah Kusuma

The New Brunswick justice system could be in line for a digital upgrade that would allow people to file information to courts electronically and retrieve important information online.

Argyri Panezi and a team of researchers at the University of New Brunswick are developing a project that would apply changes to the Court of Appeal, the Court of King’s Bench and the Provincial Court.

“We just need to make sure that this is done in a systematic, careful, way and really fits the needs of the communities that the courts are serving,” said Panezi, who is the Canada Research Chair in Digital Information Law at UNB Law.

The project started at the beginning of 2023. There was a summit in August, where Panezi met with interested parties from the courts, law associations and legal aid institutions to discuss the changes.

There will be another summit in 2024.

“It’s not a quick fix,” she said. “It’s not a quick process because we need to make sure that we implement changes and we propose and then implement changes in the right place.

“We don’t just throw technology to problems. We need to rethink about the whole system when we’re talking about modernization and

Professor to develop electronic devices made entirely of paper

26/10/2025Diah Kusuma

Imagine if you could build an electronic device made entirely of paper. A nontoxic, cost-effective and biodegradable alternative to silicon- and plastic-based components would be a game-changer for a planet quickly filling up with the “e-waste” of discarded gadgets and single-use sensors.

That’s the vision of Binghamton University Professor Seokheun “Sean” Choi. He’s worked for years creating better biobatteries that use bacteria or human sweat to generate energy. Some of those batteries have been paper-based, and now he hopes to apply that knowledge to circuit boards and related parts.

A new $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation will fund development of what he calls integrated papertronics. The three-year award is his ninth federal grant since coming to Binghamton — seven from the NSF and two from the Office of Naval Research.

The primary goal is to print multilayered, high-performance circuit boards on paper using densely concentrated, highly conductive metallic wires, and to create flexible paper-based components that can

US-based video game co Electronic Arts to slash 5% of its workforce

31/07/2025Diah Kusuma

US-based video game publishing giant Electronic Arts has joined the list of firms that are reducing their workforce in cost-cutting measures.

According to a report by The Hollywood Reporter, Electronic Arts has told its employees it will be shedding about 5% of its workforce or more than 650 jobs.

“While not every team will be impacted, this is the hardest part of these changes, and we have deeply considered every option to try and limit impacts to our teams,” EA CEO Andrew Wilson wrote in a memo to staff.

“Our primary goal is to provide team members with opportunities to find new roles and paths to transition onto other projects. Where that’s not possible, we will support and work with each colleague with the utmost attention, care, and respect,” the letter further said, adding that communications regarding the plan have already begun and will be largely completed by early next quarter.

The company’s rationalization plan includes a reduction in real estate as well.

The publishing giant estimated that the restructuring plan will incur approximately $125 million to $165 million in total charges in connection with the plan. These charges consist of approximately $50 million to $65 million associated with office

Feds are banning humorous electronic messages on highways

12/07/2025Diah Kusuma

PHOENIX (AP) — It’s no joke. A federal agency is discouraging humorous and quirky messages that could distract or confuse drivers on highways and freeways across the country.

The Federal Highway Administration recently released an updated 1,100-page manual that spells out how signs and other traffic control devices are regulated. In it, the agency strongly recommends against overhead electronic signs with obscure meanings, references to pop culture or those intended to be funny.

Rather, signs should be “simple, direct, brief, legible and clear,” when relaying important information such as warning drivers of overhead crashes, adverse weather conditions and traffic delays, the agency said. Seatbelt reminders and warnings about the dangers of speeding or driving impaired are allowed.

States around the country have used quirky messaging to draw the attention of drivers. Among them: “Use Yah Blinkah” in Massachusetts; “Visiting in-laws? Slow down, get there late,” from Ohio; “Don’t drive Star Spangled Hammered,” from Pennsylvania; “Hocus pocus, drive with focus” from New Jersey; and “Hands on the wheel, not your meal” from Arizona.

Arizona has more than 300 electronic signs above its highways. For the last seven years, the Arizona Department of Transportation has held a contest to find the funniest

FBI seizes electronic devices of NYC Mayor Eric Adams

21/09/2024Diah Kusuma

The FBI seized the electronic devices of New York City Mayor Eric Adams as part of a federal investigation that previously brought the FBI to the home of his top fundraiser, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News.

The FBI declined to comment to ABC News.

The mayor’s office confirmed that the seizure took place on Monday. The major has denied any wrongdoing.

“As a former member of law enforcement, I expect all members of my staff to follow the law and fully cooperate with any sort of investigation—and I will continue to do exactly that. I have nothing to hide,” Adams said in a statement .

PHOTO: Major Eric Adams speaks during a Veteran's Day breakfast celebration at Gracie Mansion on Nov. 9, 2023, in New York. — Major Eric Adams speaks during a Veteran’s Day breakfast celebration at Gracie Mansion on Nov. 9, 2023, in New York.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Federal prosecutors with the Southern District of New York declined to comment.

The FBI previously searched the home of Brianna Suggs, Adams’ main fundraiser. The investigation seeks to determine whether the mayor’s campaign received illegal foreign donations from Turkey with a Brooklyn construction company as a conduit source told ABC News.

Boyd Johnson, a campaign attorney for Adams, said that it was discovered an individual recently acted

Advancing toward wearable stretchable electronics

14/09/2024Diah Kusuma

Intrinsically stretchable transistors and integrated circuits under large deformation after being released from the supporting substrate. (Image credit: Donglai Zhong, Jiancheng Lai and Yuya Nishio of Bao Group at Stanford University)

Small wearable or implantable electronics could help monitor our health, diagnose diseases, and provide opportunities for improved, autonomous treatments. But to do this without aggravating or damaging the cells around them, these electronics will need to not only bend and stretch with our tissues as they move, but also be soft enough that they will not scratch and damage tissues.

Researchers at Stanford have been working on skin-like, stretchable electronic devices for over a decade. In a paper published March 13 in Nature, they present a new design and fabrication process for skin-like integrated circuits that are five times smaller and operate at one thousand times higher speeds than earlier versions. The researchers demonstrated that their soft integrated circuits are now able to drive a micro-LED screen and detect a braille array that is more sensitive than human fingertips.

“We’ve made a significant leap forward. For the first time, stretchable integrated circuits are now small enough and fast enough for many applications,” said Zhenan Bao, a KK Lee